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RIP: HBO Cancels “The Idol” After Terrible Ratings and Reviews, The Weeknd Show Won’t Return

Roger Friedman
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RIP: HBO Cancels “The Idol” After Terrible Ratings and Reviews, The Weeknd Show Won’t Return

HBO has cancelled “The Idol” starring The Weeknd and Lily Rose Depp.

The short lived series garnered terrible ratings and atrocious reviews. Sam Levinson, creator of “Euphoria,” originated this show with The Weeknd.

But the show had problems from the get-go. The original writer left amid accusations of a toxic backstage atmosphere. Levinson replaced her, and amped up all the grim sex scenes. There was also no understanding of the music business, and less about how a pop star would be developed and survive.

What a mess. Levinson will go on to “Euphoria” and other projects. Depp could still have a very good career. But The Weeknd really imperiled his pop star career. He released a lot of bad music no one wanted, and his participation in those sex scenes revealed that he couldn’t — and shouldn’t — do any more acting.

HBO, meantime, has plenty of terrific shows like “The Gilded Age” coming up on its 2nd season. They would be smart just to put “The Idol” in a drawer somewhere– no streaming. Just forget it.

(Watch) Scooter Braun Parties, Sings Karaoke on A Yacht with Pals, Ignores Stories of Justin, Ariana, Demi Jumping Ship

Roger Friedman
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(Watch) Scooter Braun Parties, Sings Karaoke on A Yacht with Pals, Ignores Stories of Justin, Ariana, Demi Jumping Ship

Scooter Braun is living a carefree life and he wants us to know it.

The now ex manager of Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Idina Menzel, and likely Justin Bieber has posted videos of himself and pals partying on a yacht and singing karaoke Journey songs.

I guess rumors are right. He doesn’t want to manage anyone, and he’s not. I wonder what it’s like to work at his SB Management company. It must be demoralizing to see your boss acting like this. Email me in confidence at showbiz411@gmail.com. I’d love to know.

What will Justin Bieber think when he sees this? It’s one for thing Scooter to have fun but this is a Big F U to everyone around him. Party on!

How Did This Happen? Jon Batiste Releases 1st Post-Grammy Album of the Year Release, And It Bombs with Just 15,000 Sold

Roger Friedman
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How Did This Happen? Jon Batiste Releases 1st Post-Grammy Album of the Year Release, And It Bombs with Just 15,000 Sold

Wow, this is a headscratcher. Jon Batiste released a new album last week, his first one since he won the Grammy in 2021 for his album, “We Are.”

The new album, called “World Music Radio,” sold just 15,118 streaming equivalent copies. In paid downloads and CDs, that number was just 8,283. The album is not on the iTunes Top 200 Albums.

This would seem strange since “We Are” did win that Grammy for Album of the Year and four other statues that night.

But “We Are” sold in total just 4,275 CDs and downloads. Total sales including streaming came eventually to 152,569. The album got no sales bounce from the Grammys. Usually an album of the year would take off like a rocket. In this case, it did not.

And so we have the follow up effort, already a non event.

What happened? In the case of “We Are” — an ebullient celebration of R&B and world music — Batiste had something big going for him. He was the bandleader every night on CBS’s “Late Night with Stephen Colbert.” He was omnipresent. Everyone was in love with him, especially CBS, which also broadcasts the Grammy Awards.

Batiste left Colbert soon after winning, which wasn’t a shock. I’m sure if Colbert were on right now, Batiste would be invited back. But the strikes have left the talk shows dark, meaning Batiste hasn’t had a lot of outlets to plug the new music. Second, the album was only announced a short time ago and had no real advance marketing from Verve Records.

PS “We Are” beat albums by Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo and even Tony Bennett’s second collaboration with Lady Gaga.

Does Donald Trump Have Memory Issues? Insists On Social Media He Never Had Impeachment Inquiry (He Had Two)

Roger Friedman
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Does Donald Trump Have Memory Issues? Insists On Social Media He Never Had Impeachment Inquiry (He Had Two)

Donald Trump was impeached twice during his time in office. Each time there were impeachment inquiries by Congress. He beat the charges, but on the second go round, according to Wikipedia, and our own recent unimpeachable memory, 10 Republican representatives voted for the second impeachment, the most pro-impeachment votes ever from a president’s party. This was also the first presidential impeachment in which the majority caucus voted unanimously for impeachment.

Nevertheless, Trump insists today on social media — in all caps — that there was never an inquiry into either impeachment. He writes:

“I NEVER HAD AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY, I HAD AN IMPEACHMENT, WHICH I WON! IT WAS STARTED IMMEDIATELY, NO MEETINGS, NO STUDY, NO DELAYS. THE LUNATIC FASCHISTS & MARXISTS PLAY THE GAME DIFFERENTLY. THEY ARE OUT TO DESTROY AMERICA. MAGA!”

Does Trump have dementia? Should Melania take him for neurological tests? He says these things and his followers, who are already demented, believe him and spew it back. But these are facts: Donald Trump was impeached twice by Congress, which spent months leading up to the votes investigating him. Sorry. Donnie. These things happened. You’ve also been indicted recently FOUR times, arrested four times, and will stand trial FOUR times.

Box Office: “Oppenheimer” Hits $300 Mil, “Barbie” Short of $600 Mil, “Gran Turismo” Races to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Oppenheimer” Hits $300 Mil, “Barbie” Short of $600 Mil, “Gran Turismo” Races to Number 1

Today is $4 day at movie theaters. Buy the tickets in person — I made the mistake of buying mine from Fandango, which charged $3.83 in fees. LOL. Just go to the theater, where there is no fee.

The weekend take for “Oppenheimer” brought it to just over $300 million — an amazing mark for a three hour talky epic that has no CGI. It’s mostly men discussing how to build a bomb that could destroy the world. Knockout performances and keen directing keep you on the edge of your seat.

“Barbie” will hit $600 million US tomorrow or Tuesday. It fell short this weekend at $594 million. It also finished second to “Gran Turismo,” which raced to number 1 with gaming fans.

The new kid on the block is Helen Mirren in “Golda,” an indie from Bleecker Street. Mirren will get an Oscar nomination for playing legendary Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. The movie made $1.8 million this weekend, and it’s just getting started. Let’s ee “Golda” in the mix at the Gotham Awards and even the Spirit Awards.

Trump Warns Fox News Unless They Play Nice Their “Beautiful Golden Goose Will Be Forever Gone”

Roger Friedman
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Trump Warns Fox News Unless They Play Nice Their “Beautiful Golden Goose Will Be Forever Gone”

On social media, Donald Trump keeps attacking Fox News. He’s mocking them for “low ratings” for the GOP presidential debate. The total number was 12.8 million, which was pretty high for a regular debate and one that didn’t feature him as a potential villain.

Trump warns Fox News unless they start warming up to him, their “forever Golden Goose will be forever gone”!

Trump is also claiming that “everyone” was watching his interview with Tucker Carlson on Twitter X. The reality is that Trump was crowing about 300 million views. The actual number never rose about 260,000, but those were just people sampling and leaving the ridiculous encounter.

The Carlson Trump interview never achieved 1 million “likes.” The number was 829,000. That’s a fraction of the Fox number. LIke his weight and golf score, these are numbers Trump can’t seem to process in his tiny head.

Bob Barker, Star of “Price is Right” for Decades, Passes Away at Age 91, Prominent Animal Rights Activist

Roger Friedman
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Bob Barker, Star of “Price is Right” for Decades, Passes Away at Age 91, Prominent Animal Rights Activist

Bob Barker has died at age 91.

The prominent animal rights activist hosted “The Price is Right” for decades, from 1972 to 2007. His calm demeanor turned the failing game show into a massive hit.

Barker had originally come to TV as the host of “Truth or Consequences” in 1956, meaning he was on daily TV for a record 16 years when he took over “Price,” and that was just the beginning.

Barker presented on TV as a genial uncle. But in real life he was tough. “Price is Right” had plenty of scandals and even some lawsuits. One of the women on the show, Brandi Sherwood, won her lawsuit against the show in November 2012, after she claimed the show terminated her while on maternity leave; she was awarded over $8,000,000 in damages, both punitive and personal.

There were other scandals you can read here.

Here’s a more complete bio.

Box Office: Game On as “Barbie” from Mattel Knocked Off Number 1 by “Gran Turismo” Movie from PlayStation

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Game On as “Barbie” from Mattel Knocked Off Number 1 by “Gran Turismo” Movie from PlayStation

“Barbie” is no longer the number 1 movie made from plastic.

The new kid in town is “Gran Turismo.” The former film is from Mattel, the latter from PlayStation (and Sony).

The toy department has suddenly taken over the movie business.

Last night, “Barbie” was knocked off its perch at number 1 by “GT,” and by four million dollars. The $8.5 million “GT” opening includes $1.8 million in Thursday previews.

“Barbie” needn’t worry her pretty pink world, though. She’s fast approaching $600 million domestic. The end of her run will come after Labor Day as kids go back to school and life returns to what some call normal.

“GT” is based on a video game about kids who play the game but then become real race car drivers. It’s a true story with Orlando Bloom and David Harbour playing the adults. Bloom rarely works anymore after making so much money from Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” series. Harbour has turned his role in “Stranger Things” into the stepping stone of all time.

Sunday — tomorrow — is $4 day at the movies so everything will be sold out.

Overnight Sensation Oliver Anthony’s Unexpected Plot Twist: Not a Right Wing Redneck, Cautions Republicans About Using His Songs

Roger Friedman
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Overnight Sensation Oliver Anthony’s Unexpected Plot Twist: Not a Right Wing Redneck, Cautions Republicans About Using His Songs

This is a plot twist no one saw coming.

In the last two weeks, unknown singer Oliver Anthony has placed 14 songs on iTunes and become an overnight sensation. His song, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is number 1. He’s become the (sorta) Bob Dylan of the summer of 2023.

The Republicans were so gassed up they used his song for the Fox News debate. Everyone assumed Oliver was a redneck right wing Republican. Turns out, he’s not.

Last night he posted a video and several messages to social media explaining that the people he’s singing about “are the ones up on that stage” — and that the “rich men” — are all politicians. He’s not a Biden supporter but he’s not endorsing the Republican squad of lunatics. Whatever else he believes or stands for is still up in the air. But he did say he turned down a big record contract to stay independent.

Rachel Maddow and MSNBC Team Take Arrest Night in Total Viewers But Lose Key Age Demo to CNN, Tapper et al

Roger Friedman
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0
Rachel Maddow and MSNBC Team Take Arrest Night in Total Viewers But Lose Key Age Demo to CNN, Tapper et al

So who watched the glorious spectacle of Donald Trump being arrested?

On cable news, the winning network was MSNBC. Rachel Maddow led her team to victory starting at 7pm.

But MSNBC lost the key demo to CNN, of all things even though they finished last in prime time viewers.

MSNBC had 2.8 million total prime time viewers to Fox News’s 2.6 million. CNN scored 1.6 million.

But CNN’s victory was in younger viewers. In the 25-49 range, they beat Fox and tied CNN. That’s a flicker of hope.

MSNBC solidly won the 7pm and 8pm hours with Maddow running the show. Fox couldn’t keep up with them. At 9pm, Alex Wagner and Sean Hannity were neck and neck. At 10pm, Lawrence O’Donnell’s erudite commentary was too much for Greg Gutfeld.

Earlier, Ari Melber and Nicolle Wallace led MSNBC to victory over Fox News.

As MSNBC heads into the arraignments, trials, etc they have the advantage over Fox because their viewers are smarter and want the actual news. Last night Fox was busy talking about Hunter Biden while the first ex US President history had his mug shot taken. They’re in a fantasy land.

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